Caches are an integral part of a microprocessor. The speed of a microprocessor is dependent upon how fast a cache can be accessed. Level 1 (L1 or primary) and Level 2 (L2 or secondary) caches are becoming faster and their array sizes are growing bigger and more complex.
A sense amplifier ("amp") is a crucial part of the cache. If the sense amp does not work properly, the cache will send wrong data or instructions which can be a catastrophe within the running of a program. Consequently, due to the many different modes of operation of the cache, it becomes very important to have an effective sense enable generator circuit to properly control the sense amp operation.
It is also important that operation of the sense amp be utilized only when required to access information stored in the cache, since the continual activation of the sense amps generates undesirable heat, which then needs to be dissipated. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an effective, efficient and reliable sense enable generator for a cache.